What Squirming Starmer DIDN’T tell us yesterday

PRESSURE ON POLICE

KEIR Starmer says it will be up to the police to determine whether he should be fined. But the former director of public prosecutions also stated his own view that ‘no laws were broken’. Privately, some advisers believe his gambit will pile pressure on Durham Constabulary to clear him. One ally of Sir Keir suggested it ‘puts some pressure on Durham police who are being leant on in one direction’. Former Home Office minister Chris Philp last night said Sir Keir’s intervention placed ‘deeply inappropriate’ pressure on the police.

THE LOOPHOLE

THE Labour leader made much of his pledge to quit if he was fined, saying: ‘If the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, I would of course do the right thing and resign.’ But he fudged questions about whether he would resign if Durham police found he did breach lockdown laws but stuck to their policy of not issuing Covid fines retrospectively. Sir Keir initially said that ‘if you’ve made a law you should respect the law, and if you’re found to be in breach of it you should step down’. But pressed on the issue he backtracked, suggesting he would resign only if fined.

A MAN OF HONOUR?

THE statement was strong on selfrighteousness, with Sir Keir declaring: ‘I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them. This is a matter of principle and honour for me. It’s about who I am, what I stand for.’ What Sir Keir did not say was that he and his team had given out false statements about the evening when he was filmed enjoying a beer with activists, including claiming that deputy leader Angela Rayner was not present. And they have failed to provide evidence of other claims, such as what work was done after the 10pm event.

WHY HE HASN’T QUIT

SIR Keir was quick out of the blocks in demanding that Boris Johnson resign over Partygate, calling for the PM to go as soon as Scotland Yard launched its investigation in January. He tweeted: ‘Honesty and decency matter. After months of denials, the Prime Minister is now under criminal investigation for breaking his own lockdown laws. He needs to do the decent thing and resign.’ Sir Keir was asked twice yesterday why the launch of the Durham police probe did not trigger his own resignation, but dodged the question each time.